Malaysian troupe’s Odissi to enthrall Indian audiences

A Malaysian troupe will explore elements of the love-dalliances of Lord Krishna and his consorts through the Odissi Indian classical dance form during a nation-wide tour beginning here on Thursday, an official said.

Presented by a nine-member group of the Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia, the hour-and-a-half long ‘Krishna, Love Re-invented’ will later travel to New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar till June 17, an Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) official said.

Brought to Kolkata by the ICCR under the union ministry of external affairs, the show is directed by Malaysian dancer Ramli Ibrahim with lighting designs by Sivarajah Natarajan of the dance company. Delving deep into the well-known relationship of Krishna with his gopis (consorts) and his paramour Radha, the performance channels the visually appealing ‘bhangas’ (stances) that are the hallmarks of the traditional dance form that originated from the east Indian state of Odisha.

Odissi is known to be India’s oldest surviving dance form. Ibrahim, a celebrated Odissi performer in Malaysia, has based the choreography on Odissi dance compositions by masters Kelucharan Mohapatra, Gajendra Panda and Debaprasad Das.